


the sky's the limit

by cattlaydee



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Fluff, Reunited and It Feels So Good, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sappy, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 12:20:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13123599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cattlaydee/pseuds/cattlaydee
Summary: Elizabeth Schuyler had assumed she’d never see her childhood best friend again, the northeast was too large, and she’d long ago stopped considering that they’d ever see each other again, that the world wanted them in each other’s lives.The world, it seems, has a way of surprising you





	the sky's the limit

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elegantium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elegantium/gifts).



> I'm sorry this is kind of late, this past week has been crazy at work and I've been helping a friend with some personal/relationship related emergencies the past few days. But it's up! and it's not exactly what I wanted it to be, so it's okay!

The night before Thanksgiving was one of the busiest bar nights of the year. And that usually meant an eventful night in the ER if you happened to be working the late shift. Eliza Schuyler stared at the digital clock behind the administrative desk, discouraged by how slow it seemed to be moving. The things she did for a few days in a row off.

“3 hours left right?”

Eliza looked up from the form she was filling out with a deep sigh, smiling tiredly at her friend. “Yes, thank god.” She rolled her shoulders, closing her eyes with a hum. “What have you got?”

“Cops are bringing in a bunch of guys they pulled in from a bar brawl.” Martha rolled her eyes. “If one of them grabs my ass like the last drunk douchebag that was in here, he’s gonna have a broken wrist on top of whatever else he’s dealing with.”

Eliza laughed and took the clipboard the other RN held out and followed her, heavy footsteps echoing down the hall. She was totally exhausted and, not for the first time, regretting the deal she finagled to get the whole weekend off. She thought of her sister though, coming into the city from school upstate, and she felt better; time with Peggy was worth it.

She heard the guys before she saw them. They were laughing and teasing each other, and most unfortunately, they were _loud_. She frowned as she rounded the corner and cleared her throat while Martha pulled the curtain aside.

“You guys mind quieting down a bit? There’s some really sick people on this floor.”

To her surprise, they did so immediately, and even managed to look somewhat contrite in doing so. 

"I'm sorry," One of the guys started, rubbing at his jaw. "We'll behave, we're just a little..."

"Yeah, I heard." Martha replied, and hopped on a chair rolling over to him. He was tall and broad shouldered, if not altogether stocky, and his jacket was ripped almost off one shoulder. Eliza could see where his cheekbone was beginning to swell. Blood oozed from a cut on his face. Eliza decided to leave him and the other guy closest to him to Martha and turned around to the men behind her.

The shorter one definitely had it rougher. She pulled up her own rolling stool and sat down, grabbing some gloves from a box close to her scooted closer to him.

“Okay. So my name is Eliza, i’m gonna be getting you prepped before Dr. Cochran comes by.”

“I’m Alex.” The short guy introduced himself before motioning towards the lanky young man behind him. “This is Laf.”

“Gilbert.” The man corrected, the hint of a French accent not masking what seemed to be slight irritation. Alex shrugged and rolled his eyes.

“He’s sensitive.”

“I see.” She bit back a grin. “Alex, can I see your arm right quick?” He offered it without a word and she wrapped a blood pressure cuff around it. She looked up at the Frenchman. “Looks like you boys had a rough night.”

“It wasn’t our fault.” Gilbert insisted, immediately defensive. “That ogre called my friend a terrible name and he had been harrassing us all night. He deserved what he got.”

“Hey, I’m not here to judge, I’m just here to help you get patched up.” She nodded at the paper covered table behind him. “How about you take a seat and I’ll get you started right after I’m done with your friend here?”

Gilbert did as he was asked. She resumed her attentions on Alex, and once she was able to refocus on him, she could see how roughed up he really was.

“Really rough night.” He muttered, as if he noticed her expression changed. She managed a soft chuckle and a shake of her head. She dabbed at a cut just above his brow and sighed.

“Yikes.” She grimaced. “You’re gonna need to take that shirt off, we have to get that stitched.”

“You gonna take me out to dinner first?” He asked with a wink, but he complied without anything further. She heard him hiss as he pulled it over his head and she looked down at his torso with a wince. He was lean; not terribly skinny, but slim enough that she could see the outline of his ribcage just below the skin’s surface. Purple discoloration flourished across it like a watercolor painting; she wondered if he’d broken any bones.

Dr. Cochran appeared suddenly from around the corner, a student intern trailing behind her with an iPad. Eliza and Martha each pulled back from the men and looked expectantly.

“Hello Gentlemen, my name is Dr. Cochran and I’ll be helping you out this evening. We’re gonna split you up for privacy sake.” She smiled down at Eliza’s charge. “Mr. Hamilton, you can stay here. Martha, if you would, please show Mr. Mulligan, Mr. Lafayette and Mr. Laurens to curtains 5, 7 and 8.”

The boys looked doubtful but didn't object. Alex was rubbing a this neck, his body swaying softly, the first real indication of his level of intoxication. But Eliza wasn't really paying attention to that.

She suddenly smelled ink. She'd had a friend in elementary school who'd practiced calligraphy. His mother had thought it elegant. She'd made them cakes, when they'd get together and do homework, and she was so nice. And Eliza had missed her, when she'd gone.

“Alex?”

She hadn't regulated her tone the way she'd have liked and she saw the way he looked at her when she spoke. There'd been a gasp, and she couldn't stop a surprised grin, though he looked completely lost. Dr. Cochran had moved onto someone else for the time being.

He was looking up at her, a frown on his face. “Yeah?”

“Your last name is Hamilton?” She asked slowly. “Are you...did you by any chance ever live in Morristown?”

He scowled at her and shifted his arm with a wince. “Yeah, maybe. Why?”

She wasn’t quite sure how to react. She sat back with a half laugh, resting her hands in her lap. “Alex, do you remember me?” He stared back blankly, his inebriated mind taking it’s time to catch up. “My name is Elizabeth Schuyler. We were in 6th grade together?”

His face worked through it. He heard the news and his initial expression told her he had no idea who she was and her heart began to fall. But then, it shifted; he paled and he moved to cover himself like he was suddenly aware he was bare from the waist up.

“Oh my god, Eliza?” He breathed. He flailed a little bit, almost falling off the paper covered table. “Oh my god, it’s been...it’s been years!” He tried to push himself up to stand, clumsily so, his movements awkward and uncoordinated. She was mostly afraid he may fall, so she rushed forward and grabbed his shoulders. He looked up into her eyes, and gave her a floppy grin.

“Eliza! City of 3 million people, who’d have thought I’d have run into you here…”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…” She reached out her arms to steady him further. “You’re still drunk, and you still need stitches and a x-ray for your ribs. Here,” She stood up straighter and pressed back against his shoulder. With her free hand, she adjust the table into a more reclined  position. “Okay, I need to fix up that cut on your face.” And then she smiled again. “And let me see if I can get you a saline drip. It’ll help, with the hangover later.”

* * *

The remainder of her shift had been largely uneventful compared to her reunion with Alex. She could only stay with him for so long, and was soon bumped from the group to be called away to help with a sick child a few floors away.

“Wait!” Alex had exclaimed, and managed to pull himself to his feet to follow her a little. And then he had asked her for her number, asked if they could hang out later that week, get dinner, catch up.

And of course, Eliza had said yes.

Incredibly tired, Eliza made her way into her apartment building and climbed the couple of flights of stairs to her landing. She sighed to herself, and thought about how wild it was that after so long, they had reunited this way.

She had been so in love with Alexander Hamilton, in only the way a just prepubescent girl could be---innocent and new and completely, 100% infatuated. She had only become interested in boys that year, and he was nice, and funny, and so very smart. And Ms. Rachel had made such good snacks after school and had been so nice to her, especially when Eliza’s own parents were often out of town for work things and she and her sisters had to stay with their Aunt.

But Ms. Rachel had gotten sick, and she’d died. And she’d only gotten to see Alex once in that crazy time period before he'd gone away for good, and he had acted sullen and distant. It took her years to accept they’d never see each other again. And then here he was. 

She laughed to herself as she fumbled with her keys. She had texted her sister immediately when she’d gotten a free minute, and she wondered if Angelica was still up. Both she and Peggy had known him, had known how Eliza felt, had had their own friendship with the boy, and she was almost positive, despite how tired she was, that she would be forced to stay up to go over some of what had happened tonight.

The door swung open before she had a chance to open it herself and she yelped in surprise. She jumped back and her eyes shot open.

“Peggy? I thought you weren’t gonna be here until tomorrow morning!?”

And her sister---innocent, darling, younger sister----stood in the doorway, a half empty bottle of ros _é_ clutched in her fist, grinning at her fiendishly. “I came down early! Now get in here, Angelica and I want to hear literally everything.”

‘’It’s not that big of a deal….”

She could hear Angelica’s scoff from where she was in the living room. “Oh please, you guys hung out with him all the time.”

Peggy joined her on their couch. “And _I_ was in love with him!”

“You were 10, Peggy.” Angelica looked back at Eliza with a smirk. “Eliza though…”

“ _He_ was in love with you.” Eliza quipped, changing the subject. She let Peggy pour her a glass, and settled on the couch. Angelica sipped at wine, making eyes at her sister over the rim of the glass. 

“I know.”

They laughed and began to pepper her with questions. What was he up to now, did he recognize her, what were his friends like? And most importantly…

“So you’re gonna see him again right?”

Eliza shrugged. “He grabbed my number. And I don’t expect anything,” She added hurriedly. “I mean, for all I know he could have a girlfriend or something, but I do hope we get to have coffee or something…”

“Mmhmm.” Peggy noted. “ _Coffee_.”

Eliza tossed a throw pillow in her direction. “Shut up! I’m serious. It’s been like...15 years? We’re both completely different people. Who knows what happened after he left here. We probably have nothing in common.”

Eliza didn’t see the look Angelica and Peggy shared. It wasn’t uncommon for Eliza to downplay a situation to manage her hopes, and she wasn’t wrong.

“But it definitely won’t hurt to try.” Peggy said. Eliza nodded, her entire body moving as she did so, and she began to pick at the pattern on a throw blanket over the edge of the couch.

“At the very least, we can be friends.”

Silence settled over them, though it was clear Angelica and Peggy wanted to say something more. They decided not to push, and instead bypassed him for a moment for the sake of asking about work, and talking about their own days. But as they were putting the glasses up and finally getting ready to go to bed, Angelica just couldn’t help herself.

“Well at least tell us...did he ever grow into those big brown eyes?”

Eliza looked between her sisters, gauging if she’d be able to get away with a moments peace and when it became evident that, no, she certainly would not, she sighed. “Yes.”

And her sisters squealed.

* * *

Coffee turned into drinks. At drinks, Eliza met a more sober Hercules, John Laurens and was reintroduced to Gilbert, who practically fell over himself to apologize for what he referred to as “terrible manners” at the hospital. She allowed him to buy her one drink, since he seemed to feel bad about it, and she chatted with the others. She’d dragged Martha with her, and she seemed to be off on her own, hitting it off with Hercules in the corner. Alex messed around on his phone, searching for a song to play on the jukebox.

“Have any requests?” He asked, getting her attention. She shrugged.

“I don’t know. Christmas music?”

He made a face, but began to nod and the strains of NSYNC's "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" blared over the speakers. She groaned.

“Nooooo, oh my god, why would you do this to me?”

And he laughed at her and took a drink of his beer. “Why would you even leave that open to a possibility?”

“We’re missing something.” John piped in, glancing sideways at Gilbert. Gil looked on expectantly, and Eliza sighed.

“We had these like...Christmas talent show, production type things in school, where you got into groups and performed something…” She began to explain.

“And somehow, Eliza got dragged into lip synching this monstrosity of a Christmas carol…”

“This song is a masterpiece!” Eliza interrupted, mock horror written all over her place. “NSYNC is a cultural icon.”

Alex was already shaking his head. “You have terrible taste in music.”

“Well, then, maybe you should correct me.”

Alex stopped in mid-sip of his beer and stared at her, and she felt her face and neck get warm. She was an idiot, and she hated how even one glass of wine could make her flirty and less reserved, and cause her to put herself forward like that, especially around other people that she barely knew. But she didn't look away.

He appeared to think about her words before finishing off the last of his drink with a long drag and put it down on the table. “I’ll consider it. I’m gonna go get another drink, you need anything?”

“No, i’m fine for now.” She replied.

“I’ll come with you.” John offered, leaving Eliza and Gilbert alone. She would’ve preferred he had left as well, considering she was currently hoping a rather large pit would open up under her and swallow her whole.

“He likes you.” Gilbert said, settling in on the barstool Alex had vacated. “He acts all aloof and cool, but he does.”

“I like him too. I’m really excited I get to get to know him again, I’ve missed our friendship.”

Gilbert snet her a wry look, and she winced under it. “That obvious?”

“Not really.” He assured. “But I know Alex. And I know, considering all he’s been through, he likes to keep people a little at a distance before going all in.” He looked over at her. “And asking him to teach you about anything is a good way to start, because if he loves anything, it’s to have a chance to tell people why they’re wrong about anything.”

She laughed softly. “So, um...you know about what happened with like, his mom and everything?”

GIlbert nodded, his expression blank. “Yeah, not too much, but I know that she passed away when he was a kid.” He shook his head. “He’s pretty tight lipped about his past.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.”

Gilbert shrugged, and he stood once more, turning in the direction of the bathroom. “But he’s told us a lot about you and him from when you were younger.” He tilted his head contemplatively. “So there is that.”

She watched him walk away, then turned her attention back towards the bar where the boys were getting their drinks and heading back towards her. Alex caught her eye and smiled, and she felt the sensation of butterfly wings spread across her chest.

That there was.

* * *

 

Alex insisted on walking her home. There was a part of her, rather quickly, too nervous to hope, that he was just being polite. They were old friends, after all, and it was dark, and cold, and though it was busy because Christmas was drawing near, he had felt it was too far for her to go alone.

“I really appreciate you coming with me.” She told him, not for the first or last time. He smirked and shook his head, and pulled his coat tighter around him.

“Honestly, I would’ve followed you home to make sure you got there alright.” He said with a laugh, and then dropped his head. “That...came out way more stalkery than I meant. That was super creepy, I don’t know…”

“I knew what you meant.” She said with a smile. “So you guys got plans for Christmas? Only a week or so away, right?”

Alex shook his head. “Nah, uh...Gilbert and I are gonna hang out, since his family’s in France. John is gonna fly home for Christmas but he’ll be back for New Years.” He looked over at her. “If you’re not doing anything, you’re welcome to come over to our place, we’re having people over for New Years Eve. Nothing crazy, but if you get up to the roof early enough, you can kind of see the ball drop in the distance.”

“That sounds like fun.” She said with a nod. “Do you mind if I bring anyone?”

“Um…” His brow furrowed. “I mean, sure, yeah that’s fine. I mean, any friend or boyfriend or anything, totally welcome…”

She laughed, slowing down and crossing her arms as they got closer to her building. “Um, no boyfriend. I meant Angelica. My sister; you remember her, don’t you?”

He brightened. “Oh! Oh yeah, Angelica I…” He turned bashful. “Yeah, no, I totally remember Angelica…”

“If I remember correctly, you used to get all moony when she came around.”

“I did not.”

“You’d stare at her any time she came into wherever we were studying and you’d _always_ ask me if she was gonna be home when we were there…”

“I did not!” He insisted, but it broke out into a laugh as he shook his head. They had stopped under a streetlight, and he was vaguely aware one of the brick faces was her building. They stood across from each other, waiting for the other to make a move or say something next. In a bold move, he stepped closer to her in the light. She lifted her head to look up at him.

“This is me.” She gestured. “I texted Angelica when we left, she’ll probably be waiting.”

“Yeah, it’s really cool how close knit you guys are.” He licked his lips. “Look, Eliza…”

If she hadn’t been nervous on their walk, she was totally feeling it now. And it didn’t help that, as he shifted on his feet, snow began falling around them.

Alex had opened his mouth to start saying something and had ended up laughing instead. “Well, if that’s not clich _é_ …”

“I like the snow.” She said. “Why would it be clich _é_?”

He fixed her with a look. “You already know.” He stepped closed. “Eliza, I was nervous about meeting back up with you, because I wasn’t sure how you really thought about me but...if you’d be open to it, would you be open to letting me take you to dinner sometime?”

“I would like that.” She inched closer to him as well, enough that their jackets brushed up against the other’s. “And I’ll definitely make it over for New Years.”

“Good. I need someone to kiss at midnight.”

She tilted her head up and grinned. “Why wait?”

It was the only invite he needed. With a little laugh, he stepped towards and lowered his head, capturing her lips with his own. She let her fingers find the edge of his coat, loosly grasping onto the hanging buckles there as she kissed him back and when they pulled back, he brushed away the snowflakes that had fallen on top of her head, pushing the hair back from behind her ear.

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” She began softly. “But I’m kind of happy you got into that bar fight on Thanksgiving.”

He laughed again. “Yeah. I am too.” He pressed another quick kiss to her lips and then held one against her head for a moment or two longer before pulling back. “You better get upstairs, I’ll text you tomorrow. Goodnight, Eliza.”

“Goodnight.”

He waited until she had gotten into the building and out of sight before leaving. Eliza’s head was lightheaded and spinning, almost like it was trying to even make sense of the last few weeks, and somehow her legs took her to the right floor and the right door, and she let herself in with little thought.

She knew her cheeks must be flush from the cold, that her hair was damp from the snow. Angelica, though, still looked her up and down, and grinned at her knowingly.

Eliza started taking off her scarf and jacket, and shook her head with a laugh. “What?!”

“Let me guess,” Angelica said, both hands on her mug of whatever it was she was drinking. “ _Coffee_?”


End file.
